Double Trouble
by astrogirl13
Summary: Will and Alyss have twins named Jacob and Mikayla. Both of them want to be rangers, but there's only one problem. There's never been a girl in the Ranger Corps before. Everything is fine for Jacob, but things will be more difficult for Mikayla. Follow the story of these two apprentices as they go on the path to becoming Rangers.
1. Chapter 1

Alyss looked over at Will as he held her hand then looked over at Cassandra and Horace. Cassandra smiled at Alyss and used a cloth to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

"It's okay. It'll be over soon," Cassandra said softly.

Horace put a hand on Will's shoulder while the midwife made her preparations.

Alyss screamed and the midwife quickly finished while Alyss screamed again. Cassandra put a cloth in Alyss' mouth for her to bite down on. She squeezed Will's hand tightly and bit down on the cloth. Will looked nervously at her then at the midwife.

Alyss gave one final try and two babies' cries were heard. She sighed in relief, relaxing her grip on her husband's hand. It was finally over. Cassandra took the cloth out of her mouth and used another one to wipe her sweat. She smiled at Alyss.

Alyss smiled back, but her smile grew wider as she saw one of her children. The midwife gently handed the baby to her and Alyss took her. She looked down at the little face as Will was handed the other baby.

The midwife smiled. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Treaty. You have one girl and one boy."

Alyss and Will hadn't been expecting twins, but they were overjoyed. Alyss looked up at Will who was holding their son. "What are we going to name them?"

Will thought for a moment then smiled. "How about Jacob Halt and Mikayla Pauline?"

Alyss smiled. "They're perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

Halt and Pauline were on missions when the twins were born, so they couldn't see them until they got back. When they were told the names, Halt's eyebrows lifted while Pauline gasped. She smiled and took Halt's hand. "Those are wonderful names."

Halt didn't say anything for a moment. He was surprised that they had given his name to the boy.

Will looked at him. "Halt?"

Halt looked down at the two babies and gave them one of his rare smiles. "I like their names."

Alyss and Will smiled then looked at one another. "We would like for you two to be their grandparents."

Pauline looked at Halt who nodded then looked back at Alyss. "We would love to."

Alyss handed Jacob to Halt while Will handed Mikayla to Pauline.

Halt took him and looked down at him. Jacob had blonde hair like his mother and brown eyes like his father. Halt looked over at Mikayla. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked back at Jacob and the baby giggled. Suddenly, the light caught on his silver oakleaf and both babies were awed by it. They started reaching for it and Halt looked at Jacob then Mikayla. "I guess they both want to be Rangers."

They all started laughing, but what Halt didn't know is that what he said was true.


	3. Chapter 3

"Jacob! Mikayla!" Samantha yelled. Jacob and Mikyala were kneeled down behind a bush, snickering. They had put glue on Samantha's saber hilt while she wasn't looking. She had been practicing with it in a clearing and had sheathed it when she realized it was stuck to her hand. Jacob and Mikayla had only used temporary glue, but Samantha didn't know that.

"You're going to pay for this, you two!"Samantha yelled, waving her saber, "I know you're out there somewhere!"

They were trying to hold back laughter, but it was coming out as snickers. Samantha stayed quiet for a moment then heard them. Samantha ran over to the bush and slashed it, revealing the twins.

"There you are! You two are in so much trouble!"

The twins jumped up and started running as Samantha ran after them. Samantha was the daughter of Horace and Cassandra. She looked like her father, but she had the fiery temper of her mother.

They ran by their parents, Cassandra, Horace, Halt, Pauline, and Gilan who were all sitting at a picnic table. Samantha was yelling at Jacob and Mikayla as she passed, and the group of adults stopped talking to look at the spectacle. Will sighed and got up.

"I'll handle it."

He quickly got up, retrieving his bow and grabbing two arrows. In the blink of an eye, he shot one arrow a little ways infront of Samantha and then the twins, making them all stop. The group turned to look at Will as he walked over to them.

"What's going on?"He asked, still holding his bow.

Samantha glared at the twins. "They put glue on my saber hilt."

Jacob and Mikayla started laughing some, but stopped when their father glared at them.

Jacob spoke up, "It's only temporary glue. It should wear off in a couple of minutes."

Mikayla nodded. "We wouldn't use permanent glue."

Will sighed, closing his eyes. "When are you two going to stop pranking people?"

Jacob and Mikayla looked at each other.

The rest of the adults walked over. Halt looked at them. "What did they do this time?"

Samantha looked at Halt. "They put temporary glue on my saber hilt."

Halt shook his head while Alyss walked over to her children. "How many times have your father and I gotten onto you and grounded you?"

Jacob and Mikayla looked at their mother. "Too many?" they both said at once.

Alyss closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Both of you go sit at the picnic table until your father and I come over there."

The twins sighed and did as they were told.

Cassandra looked over at Samantha. "Sam, let's go to the castle so we can get your saber unstuck."

She put her arm around her daughter and they headed to Castle Araluen. The rest of the adults stayed there and looked at each other.

Alyss sighed. "I don't know what to do with them anymore. They're getting out of hand."

Will nodded. "They've been grounded more than ten times."

Halt crossed his arms and thought for a few minutes while the others talked. After a while, Horace noticed Halt being silent. "Halt, what are you thinking about?"

Halt looked over at Horace as he was brought out of his thoughts. "I was thinking of what to do with the two of them. I just thought of an idea before you interrupted my thought process."

They all looked at him. "What is it?" Gilan asked.

"I know they're only thirteen, but like Alyss said. They're getting out of hand. It might be a good idea for them to be apprenticed."

Alyss and Will looked at each other. "I agree with Halt. What do you think, honey?"

Alyss thought for a moment then agreed, "So do I. Let's go ask them what they want to be."

They headed over to the picnic table and the twins looked up at them. Jacob looked at them. "Are we still in trouble?"

Pauline looked at Jacob, crossing her arms. "Yes."

Jacob looked down and Mikayla frowned. How would they be punished if they had already been grounded so many times?

Halt looked between the two of them, letting the silence draw on. He broke it after a few minutes, "You two are going to be apprenticed."

Jacob and Mikayla's eyes widened in excitement. They weren't supposed to be apprenticed till they were fifteen!

Alyss's look softened. "It's up to you what you want to be. Do you already know?"

The twins grinned and said the same thing at once, "Rangers!"

All of the adults looked at each other. A girl had never been a Ranger before.\

Pauline looked at her granddaughter. "Kayla, are you sure that's what you want?"

Mikayla frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

Alyss sat down beside her daughter, putting an arm around her shoulders. "There has never been a girl Ranger before, sweetie. Are you sure you don't want to be something else?"

Mikayla's face changed to show her anger. "I know that! I want to be the first one! I'm not changing my mind!"

Alyss looked at Halt, Will, and Gilan. Will and Gilan looked at Halt. Halt looked at his granddaughter. Mikayla tried to read his gaze, but couldn't.

"If you really want to do this, it's going to be hard. Everyone in the Corps will underestimate you. You might get picked on. It'll be hard, Kayla."

Mikayla straightened her back and her grandfather right in the eyes. "I understand, Grandpa, but I'm prepared for that. I'm prepared for anything that's thrown at me."

Pauline smiled. "You would be a good Courier, Kayla."

Mikayla looked at her grandmother and smiled. "I appreciate the compliment, Grandma, but I want to be a Ranger."

Halt looked at Will and Gilan. "Alright. Gilan, what do you think? You're the Commandant."

Gilan smiled. "I don't see why not. They both know how to already shoot a bow."

Jacob and Mikayla jumped up and tackled him. Gilan fell over, laughing. The twins hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Uncle Gilan," They chorused.

Gilan smiled. "You're welcome, but I wouldn't thank me after the training the pair of you will have to go through."

Halt shook his head at them. "Gilan, do you have anyone in mind for their masters?"

Gilan frowned. "Not at the moment. Can I get your advice?"

Halt nodded. "Let's go talk over there," Halt said, motioning to a spot. Halt started walking then turned to look at Will. "You too, Will."

The twins got off their uncle, and he and Will followed after Halt. Jacon and Mikayla looked at each other with gleams in their eyes.

"We're going to be rangers!" Jacob yelled, punching the air.

Mikayla couldn't stay still because of her excitement. "I can't wait to start training!"

Horace, Alyss, and Pauline smiled at the two eager teens. The twins may be excited now, but that may change after their first day of training.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Jacob and Mikayla were standing behind their parents' cabin. Gilan, Halt, and Will were standing infront of them. There was also a fourth person standing beside them. Jacob and Mikayla were patiently waiting to be assigned to their masters.

Halt looked between the two of them then started talking, "Jacob. Mikayla. Today you two are going to be assigned to your masters. Things will change. You won't be able to prank together anymore. You won't be able to prank at all. Do you understand?"

They both nodded.

Halt looked both of them in the eye to make sure they got the message. Once he was satisfied, he continued, "One of you will move out of your parents' home. You two won't live together anymore."

The twins blinked. They thought both of them would be moving out of their parents' cabin.

"We both thought we would both be moving out of our parents' home. Why only one of us?" Jacob asked.

"The reason is because Mikayla is going to be the first girl apprentice Ranger. It'll already be hard enough for her without her moving out."

Jacob nodded in understanding. Mikayla spoke, "Does that mean Dad is going to be my master?"

Halt nodded at Mikayla. "That's correct, Kayla. David will be Jake's master. He is the Ranger of Whitby fief."

Halt motioned to David. David walked over to Jacob and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Jacob. I've heard about you lots of times. I'll keep you too busy for you to prank anyone."

Jacob smiled, blushing a little. "It's nice to meet you too, Sir."

Halt watched his grandson then motioned to Gilan and Will to get something. They walked a little way away then returned with two cloaks, two recurve bows, two packs of arrows, and two sets of knives with sheathes and belts.

Jacob and Mikayla watched with excitement. Gilan and Will put it all down and first handed the twins the cloaks. The twins put them on and then were handed the knives. They put them on and were shown where to place them on the belt correctly. The twins already knew how to put on the packs and how to string their bows.

Will looked at his children proudly, smiling. Gilan was smiling proudly, too. Halt kept his normal demeanor, but you could see a proud look in his eyes.

The twins looked at each other and smiled.

"We'll give you both a few minutes to say goodbye then Jacob will say goodbye to me, Will, Gilan, his mother, and his grandmother," Halt said.

The adults walked away and the twins faced each other. They just stood there for a minute, not knowing what to say.

Mikayla finally spoke up, looking at her brother. "I'll miss you, Jake."

She had tears in her eyes. Jacob had tears in his eyes, too. They hugged each other then headed to the cabin. Alyss, Will, Halt, Pauline, and Gilan said their goodbyes to Jacob and hugged him. David retrieved his horse and Jacob climbed up behind with a pack of his stuff on his back. David signaled his horse to start walking and the horse responded instantly. Jacob turned to look back at his family and waved. They all waved back at him.

"I love you!" he yelled.

His mother replied, "We love you, too!"

David signaled his horse for a canter and the horse sped up. Jacob kept waving till his family were out of sight, and so did they till he was out of sight. Jacob looked forward and looked up at the sky.

_I can't wait for what happens next_, he thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Jacob stood in a clearing behind David's cabin, shooting arrows at various targets. He always shot at a different target, but never in the same pattern. David had told him it was so he would get used to shooting at various distances and angles. Jacob had started like any apprentice Ranger except he already knew how to shoot a bow correctly. This only gave him a small head start.

He decided to take a break since he had been working since lunch. He walked over to a tree and sat down in the cool shade out of the way of the Sun's heat. He thought back to earlier that morning.

David had gotten him up earlier than he was used to, but it wasn't much of a problem because of how early he had gone to bed. David showed him how to fix breakfast and coffee then they ate in silence. After eating, David told him a list of chores and Jacob had all of them done by lunchtime. David had then shown him how to make lunch and explained what he would do next while they were eating. He was currently doing that now.

Jacob got back up and went back to the exercise. After another hour, David came and stopped him. Jacob looked expectantly at his master.

David looked at the targets, and saw that most of the arrows were near or in the bullseye. _He's got good aim. He just needs to work on his speed..._

"David? Is there something else you want me to do now? "Jacob spoke up, interrupting his master's thought process.

David blinked and looked down at him. "Yes. It's time to work on hand to hand combat."

Jacob put his bow down and followed his master a few inches away. David got into a fighting stance. "Copy this stance and show me what you've got."

Jacob got into the stance and quickly feinted a punch at David's face, but then dropped down into a crouch. He spun with his right leg out, attempting to knock him off his feet. David quickly went to block the feint then noticed Jacob dropping. He anticipated his next move, jumping up to dodge the sweep kick. He kicked out with his left leg and caught Jacob in the jaw, sending him falling back.

Jacob put a hand to his jaw and winced in pain. David came over and helped him. "You okay?"

Jacob nodded. David gave him a few minutes then spoke, "That was good. You just need to keep anticipating your enemy's next move. Never let your guard down. Let's try again."

They both got into a fighting stance and kept at it till dinner time. As they sat down for dinner, David looked over at Jacob. "Jacob, are you ready for your own horse?"

Jacob's eyes grew wide then he jumped up in excitement. "Yes! I was wondering when I would get one! I can't wait!"

David chuckled at his apprentice. "Alright. We'll be getting your horse tomorrow. Wash the dishes and get to bed."

Jacob jumped up and did as he was told. He couldn't wait to get his own horse.

Mikayla already had her own horse, and her father was currently teaching her the different signals Jasmine would give her.

"Remember that you have to pay attention. If you're not paying attention, you could miss a signal Jasmine gives you and it could end up bad," Will said.

Mikayla nodded then immediately started looking around as Jasmine gave her the signal that someone was close by. Will had also noticed because of a signal from Tug and was looking around. He relaxed once he saw that it was Gilan.

Mikayla smiled. "Uncle Gilan!"

Gilan smiled, waving. He joined the two riders on the opposite side of Will. "How's the training going?"

Will smiled. "She's doing good. I taught her all the signals her horse would give her. I've also been working on her shooting speed and hand to hand combat."

Gilan nodded approvingly at Mikayla. "That's good. You're ahead of Jacob, Mikayla."

Mikayla blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Gilan laughed. "Yes. He just got his horse today."

Will spoke with a smile, "I'm sure you didn't come this way to just give us news on Jake."

Gilan shook his head. "No. I'm here to let you know the date of the Gathering. It's two months from today. I could of just sent you and David a message, but this way I get to check up on the newest two apprentice's progress."

Mikayla listened quietly as they talked. The two adults talked for a while about Ranger business, but the conversation switched to how things were going at home so she tuned out. She started thinking about what Uncle Gilan said. She couldn't believe she was ahead of Jake. Jake was usually ahead of her. He was always ahead of her in school.

Mikayla came out of her thoughts as they reached the cabin. Will invited Gilan to dinner and to spend the night. Gilan agreed and slept in the guest bedroom after dinner while Mikayla slept in her usual bed in the loft. The loft had been added after the twins were born.

She sighed, thinking about the upcoming Gathering. That was when all the Rangers met and the apprentices got tested. If she passed, she would get her bronze oakleaf. The problem was what the Rangers and other apprentices would think and how they would treat her. Will had told her that the other Rangers would have no problems with it. It was just the apprentices she would have trouble with. She stared up at the ceiling. She had always wanted to be a Ranger and she loved it so far, but was it the right choice? She turned onto her side and fell asleep.


End file.
